Cycling on the Eastern Shore: Kent County Spring Fling (KCSF) Celebrates 35 years

It is a classic. It is a gem. The KCSF celebrated its 35th year with outstanding cycling, socializing, and much more. Centered at Washington College, in historic Chestertown, MD, this event was a thoroughly fun weekend. Rides from 11-109 miles may have spread cyclists out, but all were united in the joys of pedaling in this scenic region—where osprey soar overhead, sea craft nestle along the Chester River, and bathers enjoy the picturesque beach in Betterton.
A little event history: In 1983, Judy Getz, Charles Tully, and Jim Gent had the idea to organize a bike weekend on the Eastern Shore–and the Spring Fling was born. The time was always Memorial day, to coincide with Chestertown’s Tea Party Festival—a glorious event with living history, music, vendors, and much more. KCSF has evolved through the decades and has drawn thousands of cyclists to this area of natural beauty and to the historic town of Chestertown.

There is a revolution going on right now in youth cycling. In 19 states, there are state-wide middle and high school bike racing leagues up and running. More than 15,000 kids ride or race in NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) leagues. Some individual schools have over 120 kids on the bike team! Other amazing statistics include: 80% of participants have no prior cycling experience, 80% also report that a parent or sibling picked up riding as a result of their participation, and 99% say they will be cyclists for the rest of their lives.

This past October, Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League (MDMTB) launched as a new league within NICA committed to bringing experiential learning and character development programs to Maryland that use mountain bikes as a primary tool.

MDMTB works within the boundaries of NICA to produce safe, quality mountain bike events that focus on equality and inclusivity and further the goal of developing strong body, strong mind, and strong character for our participating student-athletes.

In vibrant hues of purple, pink, yellow, and red—tall, stately, flowering hollyhocks adorned the passing landscapes on our bike trip this summer. With this colorful backdrop, we explored miles of scenic back roads and water view lanes in Prince Edward County (PEC) Ontario. Breaking with our tradition of carrying packs and having no reservations, we decided to forego that adventure in favor of a less challenging, but not less enjoyable trip that included 3 base sites and day rides to explore each area. It was a wonderful change of pace.

We had another great Great Escape this year, with about the same number of registrants as last year, but it didn't look that way at first.

Only five of the 29 people who had signed up for the weekend showed up for the ride start at 9 a.m. on Friday June 9 – Dan Artley, Bill Wiesand, Scott Hagaman, Ed Jarcy (minus Mary, who had to work that day) and yours truly. The weather forecast was predicting a perfect day for cycling – clear skies, temperatures in the 70s, light winds – so I was wondering if there had been an accident on the Beltway or Interstate 70 that was holding everyone up. Nope. It turns out most of the others had gotten together and planned to arrive at 10 so as to avoid the worst of the morning rush hour traffic in the Baltimore area. Dan and Bill decided to wait for them, so Scott, Ed and I lit out for Chambersburg and lunch at Trickling Springs Creamery on our own. Eventually the rest of them also made it to Trickling Springs, but not before the three of us had finished lunch and hit the road again.